Born with the quadriceps of a powerful man, three-year-old Charlottesville mountain biker Maya Murphy is one of the most hyped mountain bikers in the Southeast. In 2003, she became the youngest competitor to ever complete 24 Hours of Shenandoah, and in she plans to complete (and win) every 24-hour mountain bike race in the country. Training for this schedule permits little time for the playground, but Murphy gets plenty of jollies on her rides.

“I like going up and up and up, and down and down and down…whee!” she explains.

Known for two pigtails, two training wheels, and two gigantic sets of quadriceps, Murphy has the single-minded drive associated with prodigies of any type. Her father, Steve, is understandably protective of his young prodigy, hoping that she will have as normal a childhood as possible.

“Maya is a wonderful child who has been blessed with powerful legs and a desire to be the best mountain biker in the world. Aside from that, and the need for custom made pants, she is just as curious and innocent as any other three-year old.”

Her natural gift has become the talk of the singletrack. When asked about Murphy, semi-pro biker Travis “T-bone” Searcy said, “In this neck of the woods, she’s known as Quadzilla. God only knows how good she’s going to get. For Pete’s sake she’s only three and already whips most of the people out here.”

-Beau Guss